Kázmér and Timár Geosci. Lett. (2016) 3:15 DOI 10.1186/s40562-016-0047-2

RESEARCH LETTER Open Access The first scientific description of aurora borealis: the 10 September 1580 event in , recorded by Marcello Squarcialupi Miklós Kázmér1* and Gábor Timár2

Abstract The first scientific treatise on aurora borealis was published by Marcello Squarcialupi, an Italian medical doctor work- ing in the court of the Hungarian Prince of Transylvania. His book, De coelo ardore, described the aurora of 10 Septem- ber 1580 in great detail, providing exact data from his personal observations on the time, direction, shape, colour, and variability. He invoked a rational explanation, bringing up only natural causes, and confronted these with the ruling Aristotelian view. The original Latin text describing the aurora is provided, with an English translation. Keywords: Aurora borealis, Marcello Squarcialupi, Transylvania, Hungary, De coeli ardore, English translation, Early modern science, Protestantism, Unitarian

Background heretic, he had to leave Catholic Italy. He lived first in Aurora borealis, the northern light or polar light, if Basel (Switzerland), then moved to Transylvania and appearing in middle or low latitudes, was a feared phe- stayed there from 1580 to 1585 as medical doctor in nomenon in the Middle Ages and beyond, carrying omi- the court of Christopher (Kristóf) Báthory nous meanings, foreshadowing menacing changes for the (1530–1581). He was responsible for the education of the future. Exact descriptions, although existing since the Voivode’s son, Sigismund (Zsigmond) Báthory (1572– fourteenth century (Schröder 2006; see also the discus- 1613). Later he lived in Poland and Switzerland until his sion by Silverman 2007; Schröder 2007), are rare and do death in Poschiavo in 1592 or 1599 (Balázs and Waczulik not go beyond a kind of literary exercise. 1994; Bundi 2006; Masi 2013:33–39). In the present paper, we introduce a treatise, which Squarcialupi published several works: amongst oth- describes an auroral event by a contemporary witness ers an essay on comets (De cometis dissertationes novae with attention to scientific detail. This is the book titled clarissimae, Erastus et al. 1580); a textbook of moral con- De coelo ardore by Marcello Squarcialupi (1581a, b). We cepts for the benefit of the young prince(M.T. Ciceronis provide the original Latin text and an English translation eloqventissimi et sapientis viri moralis definitiones. Et in the first time, and put his observations in context. easdem schola philosophica. Claudiopoli, Helti, 1584) (Borsa et al. 1971, nr. 546); and a treatise on subterranean Marcello Squarcialupi (~1538–1592/1599) waters: De fontium et fluviorum origine. Claudiopoli, Marcello Squarcialupi was born in Piombino (Tuscany, Helti, 1585 (Borsa et al. 1971, nr. 567; Holl 1969). Italy) in about 1538. He studied medicine in Padua. Becoming a Protestant (anti-trinitarian or unitarian) De coeli ardore The study we discuss in the following is on the observa- *Correspondence: [email protected] tions of ‘celestial fire’:De coeli ardore (Cibinii, Greus, 1 Department of Palaeontology, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Budapest 1117, Hungary 1581). This book is extremely rare, known only in two Full list of author information is available at the end of the article copies: one is in the Brukenthal Museum in ,

© 2016 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Kázmér and Timár Geosci. Lett. (2016) 3:15 Page 2 of 5

Romania, whilst another is in the Bibliothéque Nation- Squarcialupi provided a solid, detailed scientific ale in Paris. Both are incomplete: the Sibiu specimen description: he provided (1) time in hours from sun- misses some parts of the text, and both lack the woodcut set to sunrise, (2) directions (northeast, southwest, illustration referred to (Borsa et al. 1971, nr. 498). This is etc.), (3) descriptors of shapes (rays, clouds, etc.), and known only in the second edition printed in Cracow: De (4) described colours. He repeated data as necessary to coeli sive aeris ardore (Alexii Rodecii, Cracoviae) (Przyp- provide record of changing variations. The significance kowski 1959). Fortunately, the critical part describing the for the development of science lies in the fact that he aurora is preserved in full in the Sibiu copy. We studied it dedicated his book to prove that celestial fires can be on microfilm, kept in the National Széchényi Library in described and interpreted by rational means only. Budapest, Hungary (call number 385. FM 2/2962). Locations where the event was recorded extend from The title page is this: De coeli ardore, hoc anno 1580. X. Switzerland in the west through Germany and the Czech Septembris die in Dacia viso. Marcelli Squarcialupi illus- lands as far as Transylvania in the east. Fritz (1873, p. 22) triss. Princip. Transyluaniae etc. Archiatri opinio. Cibi- and Link (1963, pp. 369–370) provide a list where the nii MDLXXXI Gregorii Greus. The booklet contains 14 auroral event was seen and recorded. These are as follows unnumbered pages. (reference to original sources in parentheses): A short preface is followed by four chapters. Chap- ter 1. Aristotle and others on celestial fire. Opinion of •• Switzerland: Zürich and Glarus (Scheuchzer 1746, p. the author. Ch. 2. On the celestial fire: parts, time, place, 75). shape, colour and varieties. (See Latin text and English •• Germany: Bavaria, Augsburg (an illustrated broad- translation in Appendix.) Ch. 3. Causes of the celestial side of Kaeppler 1580, reproduced by Paech 2009 ad fire. Ch. 4. Effects of the celestial fire; real and fake mira- Beer et al. 2012; see also Scheuchzer 1746). cles; morals of this book. A conclusion follows (which is •• Germany, Baden-Württemberg, Backnang (Maestlin partly missing in the copy we studied). 1581). The original Latin text of Chapter 2 is reproduced in •• Germany, Brandenburg and Berlin (Maestlin 1581; the Appendix below. We add an English translation, Gronau 1794). supported by two Hungarian editions of this chapter by •• Bohemia: Trautenau (today Trutnov in Czech Repub- Kelecsényi (1979) and Waczulik (1984, pp. 117–121). lic) (Hüttel 1881). •• Bohemia: Leitmeritz (now Litoměřice, Czech Repub- Discussion lic) (Katzerowsky 1886). Squarcialupi used the term ardor coeli (Latin: fire of the •• Gyulafehérvár (Latin: Apulum, German Karlsburg sky). This has been a common term for any luminous or Weissenburg, Romanian Alba Iulia, Hungar- phenomena of the night sky since Antiquity (Stothers ian Gyulafehérvár; now in Romania): Squarcialupi 1979). The termaurora borealis was coined after Squar- (1581a, b). cialupi’s time, either by Galileo in 1619 or by Gassendi in 1649 (Siscoe 1978). It means ‘northern dawn’ in Latin, None of the cited descriptions are as detailed and as the language of science in that age, relating to its nightly comprehensive and logically presented as that of Squar- appearance on the northern sky. We maintain using it in cialupi. The De coeli ardore is one of the first natural his- an anachronistic way for the benefit of the reader. tory books in the modern sense. Why did the Italian medical doctor study the sky and The auroral event of 10 September 1580 publish his observations in Transylvania? There are two It is noted here that the date of 10 September 1580 as major reasons: one regards religion, whilst another the mentioned in the title of the book is the date of the auro- peculiar situation of Transylvania after Ottoman Turkey ral event in the Julian calendar, equivalent to 20 Septem- occupied much of Hungary in 1541. ber 1580 in the Gregorian calendar. The Principality was well known for religious tolerance. Squarcialupi was the first to publish a detailed, sci- John Sigismund Szapolyai (1540–1571), the elected king entific report of an auroral event. His booklet appeared of Hungary, made the diet of Torda to accept a law on in print in January, 1581. Maestlin, a contemporary religious freedom in 1568, the first such one in Europe. astronomer, discussed the same aurora of 10 September The king himself joined the Unitarian faith. Catholics, 1580 and another, the 16 February 1581 event in a sin- Lutheran and Calvinist protestants, and the Unitarians (a gle treatise; therefore, his book (Maestlin 1581) certainly version of anti-trinitarians in Poland and Transylvania) appeared after Squarcialupi’s. (Any other, earlier or later lived in peace and their priests were allowed to preach auroral observations in Hungary are listed in the cata- undisturbed. This unusual freedom attracted those in logue of Réthly and Berkes 1963). Europe who were prosecuted for their faith. Additionally, Kázmér and Timár Geosci. Lett. (2016) 3:15 Page 3 of 5

the highly educated King (he studied in Italy for a cou- Authors’ contributions Authors shared research and writing the manuscript equally. Both authors ple of years, he was fluent in eight languages) maintained read and approved the final manuscript. a vibrant cultural life in the court, which was effectively the royal court of Hungary. The presence of several Ital- Author details 1 Department of Palaeontology, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, ians (ranging from medical doctors to commander of the Budapest 1117, Hungary. 2 Department of Geophysics and Space Science, guard) in high positions can be explained by the studies Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Budapest 1117, Hungary. of King John Sigismund in Italy and the strong political Acknowledgements ties there (Barlay 1986:77–93). Humanists, like Squar- We are grateful to Prof. Marianne Klemun (Vienna, ) and to three cialupi, considered its high level of culture and religious anonymous reviewers for their positive criticism and for various suggestions freedom as special place negotiating knowledge. to improve the manuscript. We accepted their suggestions; however, the responsibility for all errors remains ours. G. T. acknowledges OTKA project Squarcialupi arrived to Transylvania upon the invita- NK83400 for funding. tion of the ruling voivode, and felt compelled to engage in science beyond fulfilling his medical and educational Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. duties. While there, he published the De coelo ardore soon upon his arrival. Just before his departure he pub- Appendix lished another natural history book, the De fontium et De coeli ardore, hoc anno 1580. X. Septembris die, in Dacia fluviorum origine (1585). This is still awaiting scientific viso. Marcelli Squarcialupi illustriss. princip. Transylvaniae assessment. &c archiatri opinio. Impressum Cibinii. Transylvaniae, The interpretation in officina Georgii Greus. Anno MDLXXXI. mense Ianuarij.

In Chapter 1, Squarcialupi reviewed previous works on Caput secundum celestial fire. He emphasized that the custom of uncriti- cal reference to authorities has to be replaced by detailed Facendii partiumque, singularum eius loci, temporis, examination of natural phenomena. Naive credibility is to formarum, colorum, varietatis omnis descriptio be substituted by reliable observation. Any opinion for- mulated must be supported by convincing arguments. Hora post solis occasum prima, cum esset sudum, & In Chapter 3 is written that although naturalists call the magna coeli puritas, in silentio Lunae, in quo tenebrae phenomenon as celestial fire, it has nothing to do with sunt maiores, primum apparuit in obscurrissimo coelo, the skies or stars. The sky cannot burn; it is a figurative ad Aquilonem diluta & subalbida quaedam lux, sub expression only. The phenomenon seen on 10 Septem- qua luce fuscedo quaedam, tanquam nebulae tenuioris ber 1580 was in the atmosphere: exhalations and vapours protendebantur. were burning, together with the surrounding air, as long Incepit utrumquae apparere inter Aquilonem & Arg- as material fuelling the fire was available. This is funda- estem, postea lux crescebat ad Fauonium, occasum in mentally an Aristotelian view (Kelecsényi 1979; see Sto- quam aequinoctialem, manente tamen in Septemtrione thers 1979:88 on Aristotle’s explanation), supported with hebeti luce, & obscuro sub luce tractu. Quae duae colo- an enormous amount of observational details, never rum species, magis recedente sole, clarius apparebat, described before. non solum ad Aquilonem, sed Caeciam & Eurum perti- In Chapter 4, Squarcialupi emphasized that any relation nentes. Erat forma utriusque coloris & lucidi & nebulosi of the celestial fire to divine miracles, action of wizards tanquam in arcum fusa, & a lucido illo Aquilonis tractu and demons must be refuted. It is a natural phenomenon, nostrum Hemisphaerium illustrabantur, ut umbram as much as clouds and rainfall are natural. corpora redderent. Hora noctis, sesquialtera, colores ad Fauonium, ac Circium varii, lutei dilutiones, purpurei, Conclusions punicei. Qui colores, tum ex lucido illo, & longo, & sta- Marcello Squarcialupi in his book ‘On the celestial fire of bili tractu erumpebant, tum in aere ipso procul a lucida 10 September 1580’ (De coeli ardore…) was the first to plaga variis locis accendebatur. Species per se apparentes publish a scientifically valid description of aurora borea- diutius durabant, ac deinde euanescebant, & subinde ren- lis, even by modern standards. The details he provided ouabantur. Colores autem qui e lucido surgebant tractu, (time, direction, shape, colour, variability), and the rea- radios referebant accedentis ad Orizontem Solis, per- soning he brought forward to emphasize its natural ori- que nubium rimas eosdem radios emittentis. Qui radii gin put him to the forefront of early modern science. surgebant in coelum pyramidis erant figura, & coloris Kázmér and Timár Geosci. Lett. (2016) 3:15 Page 4 of 5

austeritatem, in summis partibus gradatim perdebant, the sun sank far below the horizon, extending from north fueruntque semper maiores, frequentiores, & magis col- to northeast, as far as southeast. oratae species, & eruptiones usquae ad horam nonam The light became so strong, that objects cast shadows. in Circii plaga, & Fauonii, quam Aquilonis, Boreae, & One-and-a-half hour after sunset light yellow, purple, and Subsolani. red colour appeared in the north and northwest. These Certissimum est omnia fuisse maiora, & creuisse puni- colours radiated from the elongated light field. Addi- ceas maculas, quo longius ab Orizonte Sol ad medium tionally, flames appeared in various places, distant from coeli sub altero orbe rapiebantur. In tantum, ut media the light-coloured field. These, seemingly independent nocte, hora XI. & XII. punicei coloris, & pulcherrimi features, lasted quite long, appearing again after a short plane cruoris formae texerint dimidiam fere coeli par- break. Colours radiating from the light field were similar tem. Et emicabant non raro in puniceis istis pyramidibus to sun rays radiating through openings in a cloud cover. variae distinctiones, luteae, purpureae, tanquam vagarum These rays were projected on the sky in pyramidal form. a tremularum flammarum, que ad coeli nostrum vertice, Upwards the colour became gradually lighter. Large, & polum, & lacteam viam interdum volitabant. Nequae dense and more colourful spots and eruptions appeared tamen una forma ostenti diu manebat. Modo ad ortum, in the west, northwest, north and east. These lasted until modo ad occasu pulchriores & maiores erant, flavae ac the ninth hour. puniceae species areaequae. Demum in ipso septemtri- The more the sun approached the zenith on the far one maximus quasi mons, cum basi fusa, & culmine acu- side of the earth, the colours became the larger. At about tiori extitit, totus puniceus ab imo arcus lucidi, utquae ad 11–12 h, just before midnight, these beautiful purple medium caeli porrectus. spots grew so large as to look like the sky was dyed by Ibi, uti adumbravi pictura, haerebat croceus quidam gushing blood. fulgur, unde iri meridiem ad Euronothum, Nothum, & The pyramidal red rays, yellow and purple colours Libonothum puniceae nec magnae plagae tres aut quat- erupted repeatedly, quivering like flames. These reached uor declineabant. Luna & Sole adortum accedentibus the northern pole, even beyond that, as far as the Milky remissio formarum & colorum est facta. Et hora circiter Way. Neither of the forms remained permanent. Either quarta post dimidiam noctem, nulla exsitit species. Atq- in the east or in the west larger and more fanciful yel- uae hoc factum est, Luna silente sub Libra, Sole vero in low and purple lights and halos appeared. Finally, in the virgine ad mediam signiferi semitam, & aequinoctium north, appeared an intense arc, purple in full, looking autumnale delabente. Hactenus de specie visi. Videamus like a mountain in the sky, wide at the bottom, peaked at nunc singularum quae causae fuerint. the top. Here, saffron-coloured light was attached. There The English translation is based on the Latin original were three smaller, purple spots to the south, southeast and two Hungarian translations of Kelecsényi (1979) and and southwest. Waczulik (1984). When the Moon and the Sun slowly appeared in the east, forms and colours decreased. About 4 h after mid- On the celestial fire, seen on 10 September 1580 in Dacia. night, there remained nothing to be seen. Study of Marcellus Squarcialupi, chief medical doctor When these phenomena were on display, New Moon of the illustrious Prince of Transylvania. Printed in Sibiu, was in the sign of Libra. Sun was in the Virgin, approach- in the press of Georgius Greus, in the year of 1581, in the ing the middle path of the Zodiac and the point of month of January. autumn equinox.

Chapter two Received: 18 December 2015 Accepted: 26 April 2016

The celestial fire—description of its parts, places, times, forms, colours, and varieties In the first hour after sunset, in the fair sky in the north, References whilst the new moon provided deep darkness, a faint, Balázs M, Waczulik M (1994) Squarcialupi, Marcello. In: Péter L (ed) Új Magyar whitish light appeared. It was accompanied by brownish Irodalmi Lexikon [New Hungarian Literary Lexicon] 3. Akadémiai Kiadó, red cloud. Budapest, p 1842 Barlay ÖS (1986) Romon virág. Fejezetek a Mohács utáni reneszánszról. [Flow- Both the white light and the brownish red cloud ers on ruins. Chapters of Renaissance in Hungary after the lost Mohács extended from north to southwest. Later, the white light battle in 1526.] Gondolat, Budapest spread westwards, towards the equinoctal point. These Beer J, McCraacken K, von Steiger R (2012) Cosmogenic Radionuclides. two, different colours became better visible later, when Springer, Berlin Kázmér and Timár Geosci. Lett. (2016) 3:15 Page 5 of 5

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